Stakeholders on Wednesday rose with renewed zeal from a 2-day anti-terrorism strategy review workshop to confront rapidly changing emerging terrorism threats being dynamically tackledacross the country by the National Counter Terrorism Center (NCTC) under the Office of National Security Adviser (ONSA).
The 2-day stakeholders’ workshop to deliberate on the final draft of the review of the National Counter-Terrorism Strategy (NACTEST) was organised in Abuja by the NCTC-ONSA in conjunction with the EU-UN Global Terrorism Threats Facility.
NCTC-ONSA’s Coordinator, Major General Adamu Laka who declared the key event open on Tuesday on behalf of the National Security Adviser, Mala Nuhu Ribadu, said that the workshop was important for national security, noting that it was in line with the foremost agency’s agenda to always be ahead of sworn enemies of the Nigerian State.
(National Coordinator, NCTC, Major General Adamu Laka (middle) in a group photograph with participants at the 2-day event at ONSA, Abuja)
“Distinguished participants, as you may recall, the National Counter Terrorism Strategy 2016 has guided our national efforts in the fight against terrorism for nearly a decade.
“However, given the dynamic and ever-evolving nature of the security landscape, it has become increasingly clear that a comprehensive review and update of this strategy are long overdue.
“This is necessary to ensure it reflects emerging threats, the evolving tactics of terrorist organizations, and the invaluable lessons learned from our counterterrorism operations over the years.
Major General Laka disclosed that the consolidated draft being worked upon to produce a revised NACTEST was an outcome of the review and the contributions made during several paststakeholder meetings.
“I am proud to say that this draft is the result of months of diligent work and valuable inputs from a broad range of stakeholders across ministries, departments, agencies, civil society organisations, and our international partners.
”These wide array of perspectives have been instrumental in producing a draft strategy that is robust, inclusive, fully aligned with international best practices and will stand the test of time,” Laka said.
The NCTC boss further said, “this review comes at a particularly important time, as the NCTC is transitioning into a Regional Centre of Excellence for Counterterrorism in West Africa and the Sahel, following the declaration by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“This transition underscores Nigeria’s leadership and commitment to regional security, and it demands that we produce a National Counter Terrorism Strategy that meets Nigeria’s needs and also sets a benchmark for the Region”.
Speaking further, he said, “the centre’s expanded role as a Regional Centre of Excellence includes spearheading capacity-building efforts for West African and Sahelian states. Indeed, we are currently conducting 4 simultaneous courses at the Centre over the next 2 weeks.
According to him, they are Silver Commanders Courses, Gold Commanders Course, Intelligence Analysis, and Train-the-Trainer Aviation Security Courses all of which he said were organised in partnership with the British Council.
“In the same breath, let me use this medium to express our profound gratitude to the British Council and all our partners for their steadfast support and invaluable contributions.”
Major General Laka gave useful insight into the workshop, saying, “This workshop is also carefully designed to ensure active participation and collective ownership of the revised strategy’’.
Spokesman online reports that Day 1 of the workshop featured presentation of inputs and the draft revised NACTEST to provide an opportunity to review contributions received so far and align the document with stakeholder expectations and the realities of the current threat environment.
On Day 2, participants were engaged in plenary and specialisedbreakout sessions to promote deeper dialogue, enable focused discussions on thematic areas of the strategy, and generate actionable recommendations.
Stakeholders were able to participate actively bringing their expertise to bear especially after being tasked “to remain guided by the two foundational pillars of the counterterrorism such asthe Whole-of-Government and Whole-of-Society strategies.
The NCTC helmsman had reminded them that terrorism was not just a security challenge but also a social and ideological one, requiring the combined efforts of government institutions and society at large.
He thanked the co-sponsors, the EU-UN Global Terrorism Threats Facility for their support, adding that their expert inputs over the past week had significantly enriched the quality of the draft document.
Also speaking, the director, Policy and Strategy, Commodore A. Madawaki, who harped on an implementable strategy said they would ensure that the final document met legal and global requirements, including human rights, gender and humanitarian laws.
“We will also incorporate all national, regional and international legislations that relate to terrorism. Our strategy must address the current security challenges and ensure that all ministries, departments and agencies understand their roles and responsibilities as it relates to the implementation of the strategy.”
